Only in Dreams
by somethingtogetby
Summary: A few years after the hellfire, things in Mystic Falls have calmed down. The Salvatore School is thriving and old wounds are slowly healing. Over the years Caroline has done her best to avoid dealing with events of the past, staying too busy to think. That is, until she's pulled into a dream world. Rated M for language, violence, eventual smut.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all! This is my first published fic. It's Klaroline-focused but includes most of the Mystic Falls clan, and takes place a few years after the events of the series finale. References The Originals but not completely canon. May occasionally reference triggering material; any relevant warnings will be listed at the beginning of the chapter. Obligatory disclaimer - I don't own TVD, The Originals, or any of the characters. I really hope you enjoy this, and thank you so much for reading!

 **Chapter 1: The Check**

Another Monday came to a close at the Salvatore School for the Gifted. They were up to almost 20 students, ranging from Josie and Lizzie's age up to 13. Not a day went by that Caroline didn't feel taken aback by what her life had become. Headmistress (weird), drama teacher (great), mother (challenging yet awesome), widow (sigh), orphan (still terrible), and vampire (pretty normal, all things considered). She'd just walked the halls one more time, calling lights out, knowing full well that five minutes later all of her students would have the lights back on again. Each teacher at the school had a night to be the "bad guy" - the one who came back after that five minutes to shut the lights off for good. Thankfully, Monday nights belonged to Ric.

She trudged into the kitchen, renovated shortly after the school opened to accommodate cooking for a large number with funds from a certain substantial donor, and pulled a stool up to the giant wooden cutting board table. Letting her high heels drop off of her feet (it's not like the health inspector was about to walk in), she poured herself a glass of red wine and took a slow sip. Suddenly, she heard someone running toward the room. An adult, she could tell. They smelled like...hospital.

"Hey Care! Bye Care!" Elena yelled, speeding through the kitchen and out the back door, beeper going off. She'd been there teaching that day. They'd worked it out so science classes were taught when Elena wasn't at the hospital, and she'd been teaching that day, hoping that if she were called in, it wouldn't be until later. And off she went.

"Bye Dr. Salvatore," Caroline called back in a teasing voice, hearing the door slam behind her. Technically it was Dr. Elena Gilbert-Salvatore, and even though she and Damon had been married for a few years now, Caroline still liked to tease her friend a bit.

Caroline picked up her shoes and glass of wine and began to make her way to her suite. The school, after some renovations and additions behind the original boarding house, was big enough that some of the staff could stay on the property. She and Ric had their own separate quarters. Damon and Elena built their own house nearby, with Jeremy living in an apartment above their garage. Bonnie kept an apartment at the school, albeit a small one - she traveled a lot. Caroline and Ric had given Josie and Lizzie the choice of staying in their apartments or sharing a room in the hall with the other students, and they'd chosen to take a room in the hall with their friends. They were old enough and under the close, watchful eyes of many a teacher and family member.

She opened the heavy mahogany door to her room and breathed a sigh of relief after the door clicked shut again. Another day complete, with no fires, broken windows, blood spilled, or spells gone awry. In a school full of vampires, witches, and wolves, there weren't many days when something a regular human would consider a catastrophe didn't happen.

Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Under a colorful stained glass lamp on her entry table lay a thick padded mailer envelope, no visible stamps, unmarked save for a round red seal faintly printed on the top corner. Was it that time already?

Each year, she received a similar envelope. Sometimes white, sometimes manila or brown, always with the same red seal. Two people would pull up in a black Mercedes, and would leave the parcel with Caroline's secretary with explicit instructions that it only be given to Caroline, and that no one else was to know about its contents.

Caroline took a final sip of wine from her glass and sighed down at the envelope, tracing the red seal with her finger. These were the envelopes that kept the school going. Some of her students' parents were rich and contributed sizeable amounts to the Salvatore School, while others were essentially orphans with little to no contact with family. But she and Ric had vowed early on never to let any child that needed their help be turned away, especially for financial reasons. To be a supernatural child was incredibly difficult. Not all parents were up to the task of raising one, even if they were a supernatural being themselves. Some parents had worse fates befalling them. They were all too familiar with the instability and violence being a supernatural creature could bring into one's life. Like everyone that worked there, some of the children had no parents. It was something many of them had in common. They could relate.

But even the parents who did send money couldn't touch what came in the annual envelope. Caroline carefully cut the top of the envelope, popping the bubble wrap inside, and pulled out another smaller envelope, this one made of thick parchment and sealed with a red wax stamp on the back. She traced her finger over the seal, took a deep breath, and carefully slid her finger under the wax.

Enclosed was a check. Caroline covered her mouth and fought back tears. Another $3 million dollars, sent from the Mikaelson Estate. With HIS signature, this time. Last year it had been Elijah, the year before an accountant working on behalf of the estate. Her breath hitched when she saw it. Then she noticed something else in the mailer. Sometimes the annual check would come with a letter from whoever was sending it. When Elijah signed last year, he sent a brief update; Hope was getting older, Klaus was fighting over New Orleans and was on the run half the time, and there was always a 50/50 chance of Kol and/or Rebekah being daggered. She knew he and Hayley were together in some capacity, and that Freya was still with them. She never got much more detail than that, understandably so. The less she knew, the better. It meant less risk for the school and everyone in it.

Caroline fished out a wax paper sleeve a bit bigger than a postcard that contained a sheet of thick drawing paper. It made her excited, frustrated, and sad all at the same time. And confused. And forlorn. And it made her feel guilty.

 _Caroline,_ she read, hearing it in his voice,

 _I hope this will continue to sustain your noble efforts for the coming year. Should you need anything at all, please contact the number on the opposite side. Things are tumultuous in New Orleans. I take comfort in knowing you are safe and thriving._

 _I am thinking of you always._

 _Yours,_

 _Klaus_

Around the note were sketches of mossy trees, the kind she'd seen in New Orleans when she'd gone to find him. As always, the artwork he sent was beautiful, even though from his perspective they were just quick sketches requiring little effort. She felt equal parts so many things as she carefully slid the check back into the mailer and locked it in her hidden safe.

Relief, as that money would allow them to expand and renovate further, hire another teacher, and handle a whole slew of other practical and pressing concerns.

A little mushy - each year she secretly hoped it would be him that sent it, that she'd smell his cologne on the paper and maybe even something he'd drawn especially for her.

And guilty. It had only been a few years since Stefan died. She felt a pang of guilt every time she saw someone on the sidewalk she found attractive, double the guilt when she thought of Klaus and everyone's complicated history with him. But they all had complicated history. With everyone. She hadn't expressed interest in anyone or put herself out there, though a few men around Mystic Falls had tried to chat her up. Instead she buried herself in her work, running the school, teaching, being a mom. It was more than enough to fill 24 hours a day anyway.

And finally, frustrated. Stefan was gone. She said she'd always love him, and she did, and she would. But he was gone, and she was still here, and all she wanted was to give herself the girl living inside her the permission to be excited that someone out there, a very handsome, broody, tempestuous, frequently frustrating, and exceedingly loyal someone, fancied her, as he'd once said.

Eventually she crawled into bed, snuggling under her favorite quilt taken from her childhood home. At one time, it had covered Liz's bed, and Caroline had frequently snatched it during movie nights on the couch with Bonnie and Elena. In the soft lamplight, she traced the details of the note with her eyes, noticing the roots of the trees and the amount of detail he'd managed to work into such a small space.

 _I am thinking of you always._

 _Yours,_

 _Klaus_

She re-read it, hearing it in his voice. Soon after, she set the note aside and turned off the light, inhaling the faintest trace of his cologne as she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who has read/favorited/followed/reviewed so far. It's really motivating!**

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Chapter 2: Dream 1

Caroline awoke to bright sunlight streaming through the windows and shielded her eyes. It was strange. Typically she slept with her curtains drawn. She'd slowly wake up each morning to her phone alarm and a daylight lamp. After a few minutes, her room would be just light enough to cajole her out of bed to open the curtains and start her day. This morning, however, there was no alarm and no lamp. Just rays of sunshine making it impossible to see.

As she rolled over, she noticed that her mattress felt stiff. And not only that, but she had a crick in her neck from sleeping on what appeared to be a very unsupportive pillow. Finally, a very stiff Caroline Forbes trudged toward the window to close the curtains, a hand shielding her face to the point where she could barely see.

"Ahhh, fuck!" she exclaimed as she grabbed her shin. She looked in front of her to see the corner of a trunk at the end of the bed. That's strange, she thought. She looked around the room as the welt on her shin quickly healed. The walls were painted a light shade of yellow. Next to the right side of the bed was a desk, above which there was a pink and red decorated pegboard covered in photos, notes, and a black and maroon hair bow.

It was her room. Her old room, rather. The one she grew up in.

Suddenly very awake, Caroline took note of her surroundings. The room was clean - she was never one for a lot of mess. Hanging from the closet door was a sash reading Miss Mystic Falls, which she was certain she'd packed away after her mother died. The room was tidy, but looked as though someone, presumably her, was actively living in it.

The rest of the house looked the same way. The bed in her mother's room was made. Glancing at the clock on Liz Forbes' bedside table, Caroline noted that it was after 10AM. She'd be at work, she thought. In the kitchen, the fridge was stocked, with a few bags of blood tucked into the crisper drawer. The Miss Mystic sash and the blood bags gave her a sense of timing. She'd won the pageant, became a vampire, and her mother knew about it. Her next stop was the bathroom. Next to the sink was a curling iron and hair spray, which Caroline noted that she needed because her bed head was terrible. In a cabinet she found her makeup bag, which she was happy about but also added to her confusion, because she always did her makeup in her room.

After doing her hair and makeup, she headed back to her room.

"Why am I here?" she asked to no one.

So she started digging, trying to figure out why she was there, and at what point in time. Opening her closet doors, she found some formal dresses, her cheer uniform, and a LOT of tops with peplums. Also making an appearance was a pair of boots borrowed from Bonnie, which helped her further narrow down the time frame she seemed to be in. After making a few more circles around the room she looked at her nightstand, next to the doorway. On it was a lamp and a few odds and ends, and then she stopped. A rolled up piece of paper.

He'd been here.

She could tell she'd already unrolled it at least once.

"If this is a drawing of me and a horse, I'm going to lose my mind," she said, again to no one. She unrolled the paper.

There it was, the head of a majestic horse next to her, tendrils framing her face. She hadn't had occasion to do her hair like that in a long time. It had also been a while since she'd seen this drawing. When she packed up the house after Liz died, she got rid of some things, but distinctly remembered packing this away. Aside from the bracelet she threw aside at the ball, she'd kept everything Klaus had ever given her.

That dress.

She zipped back over to her closet and started flipping through hanger after hanger of peplums and jackets and eventually dresses. And then there it was, on the last hanger in a plastic garment bag - that beautiful blue and purple dress. Caroline would have felt like a princess that night, had she not been so frustrated. Now, she couldn't keep from grinning. She stripped down and took the dress out of the bag and off the hanger. It fit just as well as it had the night she wore it. That's how it worked when you were a vampire, which was fantastic as far as she was concerned. She practically floated back to the nightstand. Under the drawing was a mailer envelope with a red seal printed on the top right corner. It looked familiar, and like she'd already opened it, but she couldn't quite place it. Just as she reached into the envelope to see what was inside, the phone rang. But each time it rang, it sounded less like a regular ring and more like the iPhone marimba ringtone. The one she used for her phone alarm that woke her up every morning. And suddenly, the room started to darken, as though the sun was going down.

Caroline woke up in her current bed in her room at the Salvatore School. The curtains were drawn, just like every morning. The daylight lamp was slowly getting brighter. She stretched and noticed that she didn't feel sore like she had in the dream, likely because she had much better bedding now. Just like every morning, she peeled back the blankets and opened the curtains, cracking the window open for a little fresh autumn air.

What a strange dream, she thought, turning back toward the bed. Klaus' drawing was still laying on the blanket next to where she'd burrowed in the night before. She picked it up to give it another look when there was a knock on the door. Five knocks, actually followed by the sound of the door swinging open.

"Mommy! Uncle Damon won't let me have Lucky Charms for breakfast and eggs are gross!" Lizzie came stumbling into Caroline's bedroom, halfway to hysterics.

"That's because Lucky Charms are full of sugar, Lizzie," Caroline replied, smiling.

"That's why they're so good," Josie responded matter-of-factly. She wasn't wrong.

"I'll make you a deal," Caroline said. She and Alaric had never quite figured out where the line between compromising and bribing was when it came to parenting, and now that there were so many kids in the house, sometimes it didn't matter.

Both girls were suddenly quiet, all ears.

"IF you eat whatever Uncle Damon makes for breakfast for the rest of the week, then this weekend you can have Lucky Charms."

"And coffee?" Josie asked hopefully.

"No coffee," Caroline responded sternly. "Aunt Elena let you have it that one time and I might never forgive her for it. Lucky Charms and hot chocolate, and that's my final offer."

"YAY!" The girls high fived each other.

"Now go eat breakfast," she said, shooing them out the door. Lizzie turned her head as she shuffled out.

"Mommy what's that piece of paper?"

Caroline looked down. She was still holding onto the note.

"Just some ideas for class today, sweetie. Go eat!"

Caroline sighed after the door closed. She needed to hurry up and get breakfast herself. Post-vampire Damon was a pretty stand-up guy, quite the departure than the Damon Caroline had first met. Stefan was right when he told Elena something like that before...that. She'd somewhat come to terms with what happened, she didn't really have a choice. But that didn't mean she thought about it by choice. Between the money all vampire families seemed to have stashed away and Elena's career as a doctor, he didn't really need to find a conventional job, which was good because he'd never had experience with one. Instead he'd picked up hobbies that had actually lent quite well to the school. He loved cooking and became what they all joked about as the "lunch lady." He and Jeremy worked on projects and repairs, and taught the students all about food.

Suddenly she remembered. The envelope. In her flashback sort of dream, she'd seen what she now recognized as THE envelope.

Caroline opened the safe and went to grab the envelope when there was another knock on the door.

"Mommy hurry up, Damon said he's not going to make you breakfast if you don't hurry up!"

She quickly shoved the envelope and the note back into the safe.

"Be right there sweetie!"

Tonight, the envelope, she vowed.

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 **Thanks for reading, y'all! Not all chapters will be so description-heavy. There will be more interaction and we'll see what everyone else has been up to soon. My goal with this story is to make it as "real" as possible and while it's a Klaroline-focused story, I do want to spend time on everyone else's stories as well. It's safe to say this will be a sortof slow burner. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Heart**

Each year after Caroline received the Mikaelson check, she and Alaric drove to a bank in Alexandria to deposit it. While of course it would have been easier to do the school's banking in Mystic Falls, and while driving all the way to what was basically Washington DC was a hassle, it was less complicated than dropping a $3 million check off at a small town bank. A bigger city further away was less complicated because no one there really knew or cared about the school and its purpose, and likely had bigger clients and issues to deal with. Mystic Falls was great, but as they all knew, in small towns news travels fast, especially when it has to do with millions of dollars and a "special" school with only a handful of students.

It also meant Caroline could compel the bankers if she needed to.

Compulsion in Mystic Falls was much more difficult now. In the years since the hellfire, vervain had been introduced into the public water supply. Most of the town was still unaware of the existence of supernatural beings, kept in the dark by passable stories about things like gas leaks. There were, however, the older families in Mystic Falls, the ones aware of the town's history - the founding families - that were very aware, especially after the last decade. It was their idea to put vervain in the water, and they kept pressure on city leadership to keep it there. At this point it wasn't really necessary, since Caroline was the only vampire resident remaining, but after the last decade no one was sure when an angry vampire hunting for vengeance would show up on their doorstep. In their minds, better safe than sorry.

"What is Elena talking about in science today?" Caroline yawned as Ric drove them home.

"Hearts," he replied. "And blood, and how all of that stuff works."

"That'll be interesting," she said. "I wonder what she'll say about vampire blood."

"I'm sure she'll talk about the good things," he said reassuringly as Caroline gazed out the window. "At some point one of them is bound to break an arm and need your help."

"We'll see. I just don't want them to be scared when that inevitably happens. And then there's the whole needing human blood to stay alive thing. I don't want the kids to think I'm going to break in and try to eat them in their sleep or something."

"Caroline, it's not exactly a secret that you're a vampire. They all love you and as they get older they'll understand more about how this situation operates. That's part of why we started the school in the first place." He grabbed her hand and squeezed supportively. She and Ric weren't together - that ship had sailed. Caroline had never seen him like that, and Alaric was past it. At one time, both of them had the idea that if they were coparenting, they should probably be married. While he'd had some genuine feelings for her, they were both glad they hadn't gone through with it. Since then, and especially since starting the school, their relationship had improved immensely. They'd been able to start seeing each other as individuals again and enjoy each other's' company without so much stress and baggage.

"You're right," she admitted. "It's just strange sometimes, after Mystic Falls being overrun by vampires that I'm the only one left."

"I won't even pretend to know what that's like," he replied, as they got out of the car.

Inside the school, Elena was still awake after what had turned into a long night at the hospital and was teaching science. Elena handled science, Caroline handled English and drama, Ric taught history and social studies, Jeremy taught art and physical education, which amounted more to self-defense and combat, but they called it PE for the sake of the Virginia Department of Education. They were on the hunt for a math teacher, which Alaric had a good lead on, but it was hard to put a request out for "math teacher for a private school of supernatural children, master's degree and werewolf lineage preferred." A number of the students were werewolves, and while they could all teach everything they knew about wolves, having an actual werewolf teaching at the Salvatore school would be much more valuable, even moreso if they could teach math.

Today they were studying the circulatory system.

"So, what do we know about the heart?" Elena asked.

"It's in your chest," Lizzie said, pointing to her sternum.

"You're right. What else? What IS the heart?"

"It's a muscle," offered Ethan, a 12 year old werewolf. He'd come to them from the mountains in West Virginia, dropped off by an uncle that didn't want anything to do with him after he saw Ethan on a full moon. No one seemed to know where Ethan's parents were, and he was finally starting to open up after completely shutting down upon arrival. Not only was he going through puberty, but he was dealing with starting to turn with no help or guidance to speak of. It had been difficult to say the least.

"Good, Ethan. And what does it do?"

"It pumps blood!"

"Exactly," Elena replied. "It pumps your blood through your body so all of your muscles and organs work properly. What happens if your heart stops working?"

"You'll DIE," Josie said dramatically, eyes wide open.

"But then what about vampires? Their hearts are beating, but aren't they dead?" a student named Annie asked.

"Kind of," Elena answered. "Technically they're UN-dead. Their hearts still work, but their blood is different."

"So does Caroline have different blood?"

"She does! Vampire blood is different because it can heal people. So if you burn yourself on the stove or cut your finger, it can heal you right away instead of having to wait a week for it to heal over."

"How?" Annie asked.

"We're actually not sure," Elena replied. "It's hard for scientists to study, because most people don't know vampires exist, kindof like they don't know witches or werewolves exist. But it's probably related to what's called genetics, which we'll talk about later. But first, let's finish the circulatory system," she replied with a smile.

Elena wasn't about to let on that some of the preliminary "research" that had been done on vampire blood were incredibly inhumane and amounted more to draining of blood than studying it.

"Okay everyone, tonight I want everyone to find ONE fact about the human heart and ONE fact about blood that we can talk about in class tomorrow. Now go find Jeremy," she said, shooing everyone out the door. Damon peeked his head in as they left, giving the occasional hello or high five. After over a hundred years of being mostly bitter and violent, it was a strange but awesome feeling to be adored by a bunch of kids.

After all the kids were out and far enough down the hall, Damon swaggered into the room.

"So, Dr. Salvatore," he said, feeling the rush he always felt when he thought about their matching last names. Another strange feeling. "Teach me something." He pulled her in towards him, running his fingers through her hair and kissing her forehead.

"Did you know," she replied, grinning. "That your heart rate increases as you get excited about something?"

He grabbed her hip and pulled her tighter against him, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"Is your heart rate increasing?"

"A little bit," she said, biting her bottom lip.

"Only a little bit? Is that a challenge?"

"Why don't you close the door and find out?" she responded, smirking. Damon picked her up by the hips and set her down on the desk as he slid to stand between her legs.

Just then, a loud "ahem" came from the doorway. There stood Alaric, arms crossed. "Really Damon? Some of us have to share that desk. If memory serves, you live about a hundred feet away."

"Guess I've got homework then," Damon said, arching his eyebrows at Elena as she rolled her eyes, blushing.

"Sorry Ric," she said sheepishly as she pulled Damon out of the room.

After dinner was homework time. Damon headed home, Jeremy went out to find Matt for a drink, and Alaric went to do some reading. Caroline stole a bottle of wine out of the cabinet and headed up to her room.

She wished Bonnie was there to split it with. Hopefully she'd be back soon.

Caroline relaxed into her overstuffed chair, sipped her wine, and thought about last night's dream. About being in her old room, the giddiness of putting the dress back on, and how strange it was that the envelope she'd only received yesterday appeared in the room she grew up in.

She felt a bit silly about it, or maybe superstitious. It was a dream - there was probably nothing in the envelope. Besides, when she pulled out the check and the drawing, she didn't notice anything else still in it. She'd fished her hand around and found nothing. But she still felt the urge to check it again.

Finishing her wine, she set the glass aside and opened the safe. She reached her hand into the envelope and felt something cold, metal. Smooth on one side, rough on the other. She didn't even have to see it to know what it was. It had most certainly not been in the envelope yesterday, and she had no idea how or why it was there today. It had been locked in a safe in her locked room. It was something most of those around her had either seen or paid attention to despite being at the same ball, and something she hadn't kept in her possession. In fact, she had been adamant at one time about getting rid of it.

Caroline gently pulled the bracelet out of the envelope. It wasn't in its original box. Klaus couldn't have sent it, she thought. He wouldn't have been so careless. It was almost as if the bracelet had been picked up off the floor after she tore it off her wrist at the ball and handed back to her years later. But by who?

It was still beautiful. Each segment looked like two hearts touching. She smiled wistfully, remembering the feeling of seeing it the first time. How angry and frustrated she was with Klaus and how annoyed by his presumptuousness, but secretly screaming with excitement inside because she'd received an insanely beautiful ball gown and diamond bracelet. It had been hard to act like she didn't care. It had been REALLY hard to rip the bracelet off, because despite her annoyance, it was an antique diamond bracelet, one of a kind. But she did, and now somehow years later it was back, shiny and sparkly as ever. And since no one was around to ask about it, she closed the clasp around her wrist, curious if she'd dream again tonight.

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 **Hi all! Thanks again to everyone who has read/followed/favorited/reviewed, it means a lot that you've spent time on this story! I have so many places to take this story and am really encouraged to keep writing. When I started writing I thought I wanted to write the story I wanted to read, and so I'm happy to see that others are enjoying it too. Some notes: this is probably going to be a long story, and some chapters will be slower than others. I'm trying to be very descriptive because I want to give the supporting characters a real role in the story, too. And Bonnie will be showing up sooner than later!**

 **Please keep letting me know what you think and asking any questions you might have - your feedback is much appreciated, and thanks again for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Quick TW: one scene alludes to attempted rape.

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Chapter 4: Dream 2

Caroline was rifling through her locker at Mystic Falls High School, desperately trying to find her history textbook and failing. In fact, her locker was full of nothing but notebooks. Some were blank, wide-ruled with plain covers, others were unlined journals that she'd started to write in but stopped. Then she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the magnetic mirror attached to the inside of the locker door. Behind her, she heard hushed voices and snickers.

"Nice dress, princess," a girl commented, to the amusement of her friends. Caroline looked down. She was wearing the dress from the ball again. This time she was also wearing white satin gloves, diamond bracelet clasped around her wrist. In the mirror she saw a fully made up face framed by blonde curls. No wonder the girl had said something. She'd showed up at school in a ball gown, nicer than any prom queen or Miss Mystic had ever seen. And the gloves. Why was she wearing elbow-length gloves to school?

"I need to find Bonnie," Caroline said to herself. She slammed the locker door shut, having given up on her history book. She proceeded to check every women's restroom in the school for Bonnie, or Elena, or anyone she knew really, because out of all the faces she'd seen in the hall, she hadn't recognized a single one. Which was extremely weird because she was Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls, head of every dance committee, cheerleader, and...yeah. Weird, she thought. After opening the door to the final restroom to more snickers, she heard the bell and ran toward the history room, afraid to be late.

Out of breath, she threw the door open to find a very confused teacher that was definitely NOT Alaric. No Bonnie, no Elena, no Tyler, Matt, Jeremy, just a bunch of anonymous people.

"Can I help you?" the teacher asked, perturbed by the disruption.

"Sorry I'm late," she replied, making her way to her seat, which she found to be occupied by yet another random teenager she'd never seen before. "Excuse me," she said, "I think you're in my seat." The girl looked up at her as though she was crazy.

"I'm sorry, but I think you should report to the principal's office," the teacher suggested. Do you have a visitor's pass?" He picked up the phone to dial the office.

"Um...nevermind, I must be in the wrong place," Caroline replied, embarrassed.

"Yeah, the Miss America pageant is down the hall," a cheerleader cracked from the back row.

"Excuse me," she said, preparing to lecture her on how she was a senior cheerleader and had never seen HER bitchy face before, but she caught herself. She turned on her heels and stormed out of the classroom. A loud "UGHHHHHHHH" came from the hallway as her heels clicked on the tile.

Instead of going to the office, she threw open the doors of the school and headed toward downtown. Maybe everyone had skipped and gone to the Grill. Halfway there, the sun started to set. In her waking life she'd have found it strange that the sun was setting in the middle of a school day, but in the dream it didn't raise question. When she got to the Mystic Grill, she searched the crowd, which was full of more anonymous faces.

"Have you seen Matt?" she asked the bartender.

"Who's Matt?" they replied, mixing a drink. Maybe the bartender was just new.

"Matt Donovan, he works here."

"Doesn't sound familiar, sorry!"

"Ugh," she said. It was just like at school. It was completely dark outside now. She walked up and down the street, searching for a familiar car. If Matt were around, his truck would be close. As she made her way down the street, she heard scuffling.

"Let me go, creep!" a girl yelled from the side alley. Caroline ran toward the alley to find a tall man with stringy blonde hair pinning the girl to a brick wall. There had been times during her vampiredom that she'd been annoyed at her heightened senses, and the open dumpster on the other side of the alley made this one of those times.

"Let her go, asshole," Caroline shouted. The man's head spun to look at Caroline. His eyes were dark, his cheekbones hollow. His mouth twisted into a smile as he looked her up and down, one hand still pressing the girl into the wall.

"Oh good, a second course," he said cockily.

"Let her go or I swear to god I'll rip your head off."

He scoffed. "Yeah, okay bitch. I'll let her go." He released his hand, but didn't let her pass. "I'll take you instead." Caroline slapped his hand away as he grabbed her ass. "You even dressed up for me," he whispered creepily.

"Don't. Touch. Me." Caroline's eyes got dark. She could feel the tips of her fangs almost breaking through her gums.

"Oh, I'm going to touch you, princess. And you'll like it, I promise," he said mockingly. And she's going to watch," he added, gesturing to the terrified girl behind him.

Her sight went red. Her fangs grazed her lip, veins darkening under her blackened eyes. This terrified the girl even more.

The man stumbled. "What's the fuck is wrong with you?"

"You," she said, her eyes boring into his. "Your creepy ass is what's wrong with me. And the whole 'raping a girl in a back alley' thing is what's wrong with me." She stared into his pupils, which dilated ever so slightly.

"You will stand here silent while I kill you. It has been a REALLY strange day and I have zero faith in you ever turning into a decent person. So you will stay put, and silent, while I do this."

"O...okay," he shuddered, unwillingly agreeing to her compulsion. Caroline's mouth spread wide, light reflecting off her exposed fangs. She grabbed his shoulders and sank her teeth into his neck, veins getting even darker as she consumed the contents of his artery. When she was sated, she grabbed his head and snapped his neck, letting his body crumple to the ground. She could feel a little blood at both corners of her mouth but made no effort to wipe it away.

"What just happened? Are you going to kill me too?" The girl said, shaking and barely able to get the words out.

"No. I'm not going to hurt you," Caroline said softly, and looked into her eyes. "You're going to go home, and forget any of this ever happened."

The girl nodded her head slightly in agreement and ran out of the alley, turning toward home.

Caroline tapped her shoe against the now-deceased attacker and collected herself. Her dress was fine, but her gloves were dirty from grabbing his greasy hands and neck and were dotted with his blood. The bracelet glimmered on the broken concrete a few feet away. Thankfully it had only come undone in the fight and hadn't broken; she fastened it back on her wrist and let out a frustrated sigh before eventually walking down the street and taking a seat on the bench across from the Mystic Grill. She'd just wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth when she heard someone approach.

"Hello, love."

Caroline's head snapped around to find Klaus, who was dressed in the same tuxedo he'd worn the night he gave her that gown.

"Ugh, are you serious? Finally I find someone I know, and it's you."

Klaus chuckled to himself, turning his gaze to his feet. "Mystic Falls does feel a bit different today, doesn't it?"

She'd thought up half of a snappy response - something about how it shouldn't be any different for him because everyone there is probably just food to him anyway - before realizing she wasn't actually that annoyed at him being there.

"It's so weird. I haven't seen Bonnie or Elena or Matt or anyone else all day. I haven't seen anyone I even remotely recognize. And these little snots at school were making fun of my dress." He smirked at her frustration. The triviality of it was cute. Klaus never wanted to see her truly upset, but he did get some amusement from how worked up she got over these kinds of things.

"How could anyone make fun of the most beautiful woman in all of Mystic Falls? MISS Mystic Falls, if memory serves."

"Ha ha, very funny," she replied sarcastically, standing up and smoothing her dress. "Really though, where is everyone? Who are all of these people? And…" she trailed off. She seemed to be entering a more lucid, self-aware state. "Why...am I wearing this dress? And the school, and my locker full of notebooks?"

Klaus held out his arm for her to take. "Well, love, we're dreaming," he responded, to Caroline's further confusion. "Why don't we take a walk?"

She eyed him incredulously, but took his arm anyway. "Fine. So what do you mean we're dreaming? How are you invading my dream, anyway?" She was trying to keep up her "I'm annoyed at Klaus" tone, but didn't know why anymore. It was a dream. He wasn't even really real (at least she didn't think so), so what was the point?

"We're sharing a dream. That's a beautiful bracelet you're wearing, by the way."

"Thanks. It's so strange, my last memory of it was throwing it on the floor, actually." She caught Klaus smiling to himself. She tried not to blush at his dimples.

"Funny how some things find their way back to us."

"Yeah," she said, letting through a small smile. "Funny."

Caroline looked up to see that Klaus had effectively walked her home, or at least to the home she grew up in. The lights were on as if someone were home, though she knew the house was empty. The realization caused her smile to fade. Seeing this, Klaus turned to stand in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"I am so confused...why do I keep coming back here? Why are you here?"

"In time, love," he responded softly, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. They heard what sounded like excited children yelling and scampering through the house. "In the meantime, it sounds like someone might be looking for you."

She looked into the house, then looked back at Klaus, not sure what to ask or say. Her eyes fluttered closed as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Good night, Caroline," he whispered. Suddenly everything around her started to brighten, forcing her to blink and squint, and she heard banging, like someone was pounding on a door.

"Mommy, Aunt Bonnie's here!" Lizzie and Josie squealed from the hall, continuing to pound on the door. Caroline shot up in bed. It was just after sunrise, which meant she hadn't overslept at least. But Bonnie had just arrived and the entire house was awake. She opened the door to find her two very excited daughters practically dancing with excitement. Her own face spread into a huge smile. It made her happy to see them so happy, but she was just as happy (and relieved) that Bonnie was back. She'd missed her best friend.

"Why don't you go downstairs and see if she needs any help or something to eat? I'll be RIGHT down," she replied, trying, tiredly, to match their excitement.

"Mom, did you do your hair? It looks really pretty," Josie said. Caroline's eyes widened.

"Oh, I...was just playing around with it. Go find Aunt Bonnie," she said, shooing them down the hall before clicking her door closed and running to the bathroom mirror. Her hair was curled, tendrils framing her face. Upon further inspection, she saw a dark spot just under her ear.

Dried blood.

But the bracelet was gone. She tore the blankets off the bed and eventually found it between the sheets. It had come off her wrist while she was sleeping - she hadn't intended to fall asleep with it on. Carefully, she laid it in the drawer of her bedside table. Then she returned to the bathroom and tried her best to muss up her hair so it looked appropriately slept in, because while her daughters may have bought the "just playing with my hair" excuse, there was no way any of the adults would.

Thank god Bonnie's home, Caroline thought. She was happy and relieved. And she had so many questions. Once she looked more like she'd just woken up, she threw her door open and nearly slid down the stairs to throw her arms around her best friend.

"Welcome home, Bonnie Bennett. I missed you so much," she said, squeezing Bonnie a little too hard. Common vampire problem. She eased up a bit as she heard some air escape Bonnie's lungs.

"I missed you too, Care," she replied, wrapping her arms around Caroline. "I missed you too."

* * *

 **Hi all! A few notes about relevant dream symbolism (from dreammoods):**

 **Notebook: may indicate emotions or things you've lost track of in your waking life**

 **I was also inspired by the suggested meanings for death and killing; death can suggest that you're repressing some part of yourself, and in the case of killing, that you're on the verge of losing self-control.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again for reading, and thanks to everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Bonnie's Return

It would have been a massive understatement to say that the students were excited to see Bonnie. Everyone secretly knew, adults included, that Bonnie was their favorite teacher. Not only was what she had to teach incredibly valuable (especially to all of the growing witches), but she always brought fun things back from her travels, never forgetting a single person. She travelled frequently - sometimes for research, sometimes for fun - and had friends and contacts all over the world. Bonnie Bennett had grown well beyond the boundaries of Mystic Falls.

That day at school had been difficult for everyone - they'd have rather been hearing everything about where Bonnie had been and what she'd been up to than learning about, well, anything. Finally everyone came around for dinner, which Bonnie had helped Damon cook. They'd come a long way since their daily pancake ritual during that whole Kai situation.

At the end of the night, Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena took a bottle of wine up to Caroline's room. They all felt a sense of comfort when they were together in the same place - it was never taken for granted, especially considering how long they went thinking that Bonnie and Elena would be in a one-in, one-out situation. They were lucky to be together, and they knew it.

"Soooooo, Bonnie, how was California REALLY?" Elena asked suggestively, taking a swig of her wine.

"Yes, and photos please," Caroline added.

Bonnie sighed and rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that great."

"Come on, pleeeeease," Caroline begged. "You're the fabulous, single, childless friend we're living vicariously through. And unlike our blissfully married counterpart," she continued, gesturing to Elena, "I don't exactly have anything going in the romance department."

"Fine," Bonnie replied, whipping out her phone. Caroline and Elena snuggled in on either side of her as she pulled up some photos. "His name is Phoenix."

"HOT! Bonnie he's super hot," Elena said.

"Seriously," Caroline added. "How old is he?"

"I don't remember...like, 23?" Bonnie guessed, biting her bottom lip.

"Bonnie Bennett, you are robbing the cradle!" Caroline teased. "Seriously though, is that his real name?"

"I didn't ask for his license, Care. We went out a few times, had some fun, and that was it. We were pretty clear from the beginning that we just wanted to have a good time. I didn't even keep his phone number."

"Well, good work," Elena said, finishing her wine. "I am NOT on call tonight, so I'm going to go home and get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave Bonnie a peck on the cheek.

"Mmhmm, sleep, whatever you say." They all knew better.

"Yes Elena have a restful evening," Caroline teased. Elena stuck her tongue out at them before closing the door.

They were lying on opposite ends of the couch, feet overlapping in the middle, covered in Caroline's quilt. "I'm so glad you're back, Bon," Caroline said. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Care. Are you ok? You've seemed a little less...Caroline today." It was true. It had been going on a while, actually - Bonnie just hadn't been there to see it. Driven, go-getter Caroline was still her hyper-organized self, but there was something lacking.

"I'm fine, really."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Can we skip the whole part where you pretend you're fine and just talk? What's going on?"

"I feel stuck, Bonnie. I love the school, I love the kids, I love our weird little family, but I feel like something's missing."

"Caroline, when was the last time you got laid?" Bonnie asked frankly, arching an eyebrow.

"Ughhhh are we really going to go through this again?" Caroline kicked Bonnie's feet under the blanket before dramatically looking up at the ceiling.

"Care! You can't do this forever. You have to live your life. One of the last things Enzo told me was -"

"I know, still so many things to see and do et cetera. And I AM doing things -"

"You're doing LOTS of things, but what are you doing for yourself? When was the last time you went somewhere?"

"Ric and I took the girls -"

"CAROLINE. Mother of the year, headmistress extraordinaire, responsible for any and all things. When was the last time you went somewhere you wanted to go and did what you wanted to do?"

"I don't know," Caroline responded quietly. "I have too many responsibilities, Bonnie. I can't really leave here."

"If you could go anywhere and do anything, what would you do? We're talking wildest dreams."

"I don't even know anymore," she squeaked out, trying not to cry. "I've spent the last few years working to get the school functional, and trying to raise the girls in the most normal way possible. The last time I had sex was with Stefan, so that was obviously a while ago. I don't even remember the last time I had blood that didn't come from a bag. And I know I have such a good life but sometimes I just feel so lost."

Bonnie reached to squeeze her friend's hand. "You have to realize that living your life isn't betraying anyone." They'd had a similar conversation before, before the first time Bonnie had met someone after Enzo. "You have a lot of life left to live -"

"And that's the other thing, Bonnie. I'm the only vampire left. Which means I'm going to outlive everyone - you, the girls, Elena - everyone I love is eventually going to die."

"Okay, Caroline, morbid," Bonnie responded. "Not a psychologist or anything, but it sounds like you need to find yourself again. You've given everything to everyone else, and everyone is SUPER grateful for it - but you need to get back in touch with sassy badass Caroline."

Caroline sniffled and patted under her eyes. "I actually had a dream last night where I got to kick some ass and feed. It felt pretty good."

"What else happened?"

"It was so weird. I was in Mystic Falls going through my locker, then I tried to find you and Elena, and I was wearing this dress I wore to a ball at the Mikaelson house. Then I found this guy in an alley by the Grill trying to rape a girl, so I took him out. I still couldn't find anyone, and then Klaus showed up and walked me home."

"Wow," Bonnie replied. "Well, a few semesters of psychology at Whitmore and some vision quests in the desert make me think you're repressing some pretty important parts of yourself. I know you don't want the kids exposed to all the violence and craziness, but it sounds like you're neglecting some of the more...vampire parts of your personality."

"You don't even KNOW how much I've been repressing the vampire parts," Caroline laughed.

"And Klaus. Why was Klaus there?" Bonnie wondered.

"I don't know, Bon. It was weird. He said we were 'sharing a dream.'"

Bonnie bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brow. "Hmm. That's interesting."

"What? What's interesting?"

"So, I don't know if this is what's going on, but...there are things called 'psychic dreams.' Where you can communicate with other people through a dream state. But they're really rare, and not everyone has access to that plane. Usually there's some kind of magic involved."

Caroline wasn't sure how much else she wanted to share - should she tell Bonnie about the bracelet suddenly showing up after the first dream? Waking up that morning with her hair done for a ball? About Klaus kissing her before she woke up? She decided to keep that to herself for now.

"Is there anything about it in your library?"

Library was an understatement. The amount of books, grimoires, and talismans Bonnie had accumulated during her travels and research the last few years was staggering, likely one of the largest collections of supernatural information and items in North America. While she kept some things in her room, most of it was stored in what they referred to as "the library," which was a heavily protected, climate controlled room in the basement of the main house.

"I have a few things on dreams, so probably," Bonnie yawned. "I'll do some research in the morning. In the meantime, I'm going to bed, and so should you." They both stood up and Caroline wrapped herself into the cocoon of her quilt. "I love you, Care. Everything is going to be alright."

"I love you too, Bonnie. I know I already said it, but I'm glad you're home."

"Me too," Bonnie smiled. "Oh, if you have another dream tonight - write down as much as you can as soon as you wake up, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Bon."

"Night Care."

"Night."

Bonnie shut the door and Caroline shuffled to bed. She opened the drawer to her bedside table and could smell the faintest hint of cologne from the note she'd tucked away. She pulled out some paper and a pen and closed the drawer. If she had another dream, she'd be ready. She wondered what weird, out of place thing she'd be wearing or where she'd turn up - if anything, hopefully it wouldn't be high school again.

She wondered if there would be some part of the dream that stuck around after she woke up. And if she would see him again.

Caroline turned off the lamp and drifted off, open to what the night would bring her.

* * *

 **Hey all! One of the things that prompted me to write this story is the exploration of how the characters move on from the insanity they dealt with over the course of the show. Caroline is basically invincible, and while that seems awesome, there's a huge drawback. Bonnie, Caroline, and Ric are all widows/widowers figuring out where to go from here. In the show we rarely see the characters deal with their trauma, and with the shitstorms they were frequently dealing with, I don't think they really had time to. So now that things have calmed down, they're healing and moving on, but Caroline has some extra burdens to bear.**

 **Thanks to everyone again for reading/following/favoriting/reviewing - I appreciate all of it so much!**


	6. Chapter 6

If you were wondering when the smut would show up, here you go. :) Smut warning!

* * *

Chapter 6: Dream 3

Caroline found herself back in her old house, pajamas on, but hair still elaborately curled and makeup on, as if she'd just returned from the ball. She heard noise coming from the kitchen. In the last dream she hadn't recognized anyone, and she panicked momentarily, thinking there was an intruder in the house. And then she remembered.

"Klaus?" she yelled from her bedroom. He smiled to himself as he poured two glasses of champagne.

"Yes love?"

"What are you doing out there?"

Footsteps. Then he showed up in her doorway.

"I thought I'd pour us some champagne. I believe that's 'our thing.'"

He was still in his clothes from the ball, though he'd removed his tie and jacket, and in a strange instance of informality, rolled up the sleeves on his dress shirt. Usually when Klaus was formal, he was formal.

Caroline rolled her eyes but took one of the flutes out of his hand. "Yes, our thing. How could I forget?" Taking a sip, she sat down at her desk, and carefully began to pull the bobby pins out of her hair. Noticing her struggling with the pins toward the back, Klaus came up behind her.

"You look like you could use some assistance."

"I'm fine, Klaus," she replied, struggling to get to one of the deeper pins.

"Yes, I can tell," he smirked, sipping his champagne.

Caroline sighed. "Fine."

Klaus carefully began removing pin after pin, occasionally stealing glances at Caroline's face in the mirror. As his hands worked through her hair, her eyes began to relax, eventually fluttering closed.

"This is weird," she mumbled. "This is a little 'normal' for us."

"It's a dream, sweetheart."

"I know. I don't really understand it. This is something people living very normal lives, that have never been chased by murderous stepfathers or, you know, survived on human blood would do."

"Well thankfully," he replied, pulling the last pin from her hair, "there are no murderous stepfathers here. Or anyone else, actually."

Caroline ran her fingers through her hair. "What about the rest of the town? The people I talked to yesterday?"

"They're part of the dream, but they're not real. We can interact with them, but they don't exist in the waking world. They don't know who we are, and don't remember interactions we have with them. You and I, however…"

"Psychic dreams," Caroline said, remembering what Bonnie had said.

"We are lucid, conscious. And yes, we can interact with each other, and our communication is very much real."

"How is this happening?"

"It's a long story, love," Klaus replied, gently running his fingers through her hair.

"It weirds me out, Klaus, how normal this is. Are you sure you're not hiding any daggered siblings anywhere?" she let out a hint of a smile.

"No, love," he smiled at her in the mirror, which made her blush. Those dimples.

She finished her champagne and stood up. "I can take your glass," she said, and carried the flutes into the kitchen. He trudged in behind her, grinning to himself.

"So this is what it's like to be normal," he said. "It's a bit boring."

Caroline turned around and glared at him. "It's not boring," she replied. "It's nice. It's nice to be comfortable and not constantly paranoid."

"I suppose I can see the appeal," he responded, walking closer to her.

She panicked a little inside. He was getting closer. The last time he'd walked towards her like that, they'd been in a forest, and...yeah. And it was GREAT, Caroline thought to herself. But, she also thought, it's Klaus. And what about Stefan? Bonnie said live your life, Caroline. And this isn't technically real life, she told herself. No one would know.

"Umm...I'm kindof hungry," she said, turning to look through the fridge. It was full of eggs, milk, some veggies and leftover takeout - normal food, things she and her mom would have shared. But no blood.

"Sweetheart," he murmured into her ear. He was standing right behind her. That drove her nuts and he knew it. She spun around to face him, eyes wide and brows arched.

"Umm," she stammered again. "Hmm?"

Klaus pushed his sleeve up further as the veins under his eyes blackened, ready to bite his wrist for her. Her heart sped up as he looked up at her, his teeth about to sink into the vein. Her eyes blackened as well. She looked at his neck as her fangs descended. He grinned, and while it would have looked incredibly disturbing to anyone else, Caroline found it incredibly hot. He picked her up and sped across the room, setting her on the counter. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. His blackened eyes looked down into hers as he gripped onto her hips, anticipating what was about to happen.

I'm living my life, Bonnie, Caroline thought to herself. Klaus exposed the side of his neck. Caroline clamped her legs around him and in a flash, sank her teeth into his artery. Klaus' eyes flashed a bright yellow as his breathing picked up and he gripped her hips harder, pulling her flush against him. It had been an extremely rare occurrence in the last thousand years that he let anyone feed from him. He'd bit open a wrist plenty of times for healing purposes, but that was very, very different. This was vulnerable. Something he'd only let HER do.

It was also the biggest turn-on in the world. Klaus' ego wasn't small to begin with, everyone was well aware of his alphaness, but this brought it to another level. She was already beautiful, powerful - his hybrid blood would only make her moreso. And she was the only one in the world he'd share it with in such a vulnerable way, the only one deserving.

"Drink up, love," he murmured as she pulled the blood from his neck. She draped her arms around his neck. He slid his hands under her tank top and up her sides, gripping firmly enough to leave tiny bruises as she dug her teeth further into his neck. Caroline felt him harden against her and let a sigh escape as she released his neck and looked up at him, eyes still dark, fangs still dark, teeth covered in his blood. She ran her finger up to the corner of her mouth, catching a leftover drip of blood, looked into his glowing yellow eyes, and sucked it off her finger.

Living my life, she thought. More than she ever could while she was awake.

Upon seeing that, he lost it. Suddenly they were across the room, Caroline's legs still wrapped tightly around him, back pressed against the wall. Their mouths and tongues met, both tasting the remainder of his blood. Her eyes closed as he pressed kisses down her neck to her collarbone. Suddenly he heard ripping and barely noticed as the pieces of his shirt floated to the ground. He gripped under her thighs and pressed into her. She felt his hardness and let out a sign.

"Klaus?"

"Yes love," he replied huskily, letting his forehead rest on her shoulder. For a second he felt defeated, fearing she'd realized and regretted what had just happened.

"For once, could we do this where my back isn't pressed up against something?"

Relief.

"As my lady commands," he replied, speeding them into her room before carefully laying her on her bed. They quite literally tore each others' clothes off, the only things remaining being Klaus' necklace and Caroline's bracelet, which twinkled in the lamplight. He looked down at her, golden hair spread behind her head like a glimmering halo.

"You are exquisite, Caroline," he said, looking into her eyes. "Genuine beauty."

Before she could respond, he'd begun planting kisses down her stomach, letting his fingers trail down the insides of her thighs. And then -

She let a throaty sigh escape her lips as she felt the warmth of his mouth against her. At first it was slow, gentle. She tried to prop herself up, but he looked up at her, continuing to drag and flick his tongue against her heat, and she let her head fall back down. He gripped her hips and pulled her in, and she wrapped her legs around him. His lips and tongue became more aggressive, and she could no longer keep herself quiet. And really, why did she need to? Her sighs turned into sharp cries, spurring him to groan against her and dig his fingers deeper.

"Klaus - so close - "

He massaged the insides of her thighs, stopping one hand to tease a finger at her entrance.

"Please," she begged, thighs shaking. He groaned satisfyingly against her. He'd fantasized about this, and it more than lived up to the fantasy. He gripped the insides of her thighs and plunged his tongue inside of her, causing her to scream as her toes curled. He continued licking and lapping as she came undone.

Eventually he arose from between her legs, wiped off his face, and smiled smugly down at her. She bit her bottom lip. She'd always been a bit self-conscious about that, and frankly hadn't had much experience with it. It wasn't anything any of her partners were proactive in indulging her with. And the few times she had didn't hold a candle to what had just happened.

"Was it -"

"Delicious, love," he replied as he pressed kisses down her neck. He felt one of her hands slide down his chest, then his abs, before wrapping around his hardness. She bit her lip again and stroked the length a few times before guiding him towards her entrance. He rested his forehead on hers, their eyes darkened, pressed just barely inside of her before pulling back.

"Klaus," Caroline said, exasperated.

He smirked down at her. "Yes, Caroline?"

She slowly wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. He ground his hips against her, which only served to make her more frustrated and him more satisfied at said frustration.

"Why suddenly so greedy, love?" he murmured against her neck between kisses. She tried to respond, but as soon as she felt the heat of his breath against her breast, she went speechless. Her legs tightened around him as a pout escaped her lips. He pecked back up her neck and rested his forehead against her shoulder, then felt her head rock to the side, exposing the side of her neck. He looked down at her and saw her eyes had started to darken, the veins appearing under her eyes once more. He felt his fangs descend and gently sank them into her as she hissed at the initial pain, then let out a sigh. It was something she'd never let anyone do, but now she did it without giving it a second thought.

When he eventually lifted his head, high from Caroline's blood, she watched his eyes turn golden.

"Klaus, please -" suddenly her words turned into a cry as he thrust himself inside her. He tried to start slow, to be gentle, to fight the wolf's primalness. She looked up, their eyes locking.

"More," she whispered. He pushed a little harder, a little further, a little faster. He looked down and took her in, this beautiful, light angel before him, wearing nothing but the bracelet he'd given her.

"I don't want to hurt you, love."

"Klaus," she responded. "More." It wasn't a request this time as much as it was a command.

The gold in his eyes deepened as he drove into her harder, slow at first. Caroline bit her lip and let her fingernails drag up his back as his breath picked up. She twisted her fingers through his hair, pulling gently, drawing a growl from his throat. He thrust harder, faster, enjoying the sighs and cries leaving her throat. She looked straight into his eyes as she dug her nails into his back.

"More," she said defiantly, feeling her nails pierce his skin. He slammed into her, picking up speed as her eyes closed, her cries matching his thrusts. Neither of them noticed that things on the wall were shaking.

"Sweetheart," he growled into her ear. He felt her start to tighten around him. In a split second her teeth were back in his neck, and he was finished, letting out a sharp groan.

Caroline released his neck, panting and giving him a pleading look. He immediately thrust his fingers into her warmth, drawing her closer to the edge. He lowered his mouth to taste her again, but she unravelled before he could. Every muscle in her body released. She felt heavy, boneless and sinking into the bed.

Klaus rested his forehead against hers. "Beautiful."

She went to pull his mouth to hers, but suddenly he wasn't there. And neither was she.

* * *

Caroline's eyes shot open and found all of her blankets on the floor, sheets twisted. She ran to the bathroom mirror and found her hair looked insane. But her skin was glowing, her eyes brighter. She felt stronger, more alive. She found a spot of blood in the corner of her mouth and tasted it.

His.

She instantly felt so many things. Energy, happiness, release. But then came in the guilt over Stefan and fear of what her friends would think or do if they found out. It was Klaus after all.

But it was just a dream, she told herself. Kindof. But things kept appearing each morning in her waking life. Some of it was real. VERY real.

It was almost time for breakfast, time for kids and class and reality. She hurried into the shower.

Dissecting her dreams would have to wait.

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter - it makes me happy to see Caroline getting to indulge in her vampire-ness instead of having to work so hard to repress it. Thanks to everyone again for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting!


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